We lost an incomparable actress, writer, icon, and amazing human being when Carrie Fisher passed away on December 27, 2016. No one is feeling that loss as deeply as those closest to her, and in the days since Fisher’s passing, we’ve had the privilege of reading and hearing some of their remembrances. Today, Mark Hamill has shared his own personal tribute to Fisher, offering a touching, humorous and appropriately candid essay for his Star Warsco-star and longtime friend.

The tribute, which Hamill shared with Entertainment Weekly, begins by praising Fisher’s iconic role as Princess Leia and acknowledging the important effect she had — and continues to have — on pop culture:

Before Star Wars, the world was pre-programmed to accept a storybook damsel-in-distress who cowers as the men save her, but Carrie Fisher shattered that mold. She was so take-charge that she made Harrison Ford and me look like a couple of chumps. Not only was Princess Leia demanding — as royalty ought to be — but she was even judgmental about the kind of aircraft that Han Solo and Luke Skywalker picked her up in: ‘You came in that thing?’ There was great humor in that, and a relatability that was effortlessly empowering: “I don’t need a guy to be fulfilled in this world or any other.” Carrie was an inspiration for young girls and women everywhere.

But Fisher didn’t just defy cinematic expectations; according to Hamill, she defied his personal expectations based on the usual Hollywood stereotypes. He explains that because Fisher was “the daughter of Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher — these big Hollywood stars — you had this anticipation that she was going to be a certain type of person.” He adds, “To an extent she was, but she was so much more than that.”

Hamill says Fisher was “so witty that you really had to be on your game,” and says that to make her laugh was an “accomplishment.” Throughout her career, and particularly in her later years, Fisher was well-known for being hilariously candid. According to Hamill, this was just as true 40 years ago on the set of Star Wars. “Carrie didn’t just take you into her confidence,” he says, “she bulldozed you into her confidence.”